" Unidentified gunmen seized a Muslim trader on Tuesday in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province in the southern Philippines, police said.
http://ping.fm/oL8ya
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Hurricane Earl hits Category 4, but course may hange
Hurricane Earl was upgraded to a Category 4 storm last night, but forecasters are still unsure what kind of impact the storm will have on New England.
According to the National Weather Service, Earl’s maximum sustained winds surged to 135 miles per hour yesterday as it was about 100 miles north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Kevin Cadima, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, said the storm is moving north-northwest and is expected to be somewhere west of the Bahamas by early today.
A hurricane is considered to be Category 4 when it has maximum sustained winds between 131 and 155 miles per hour.
If Earl stays on its current course, by Friday it is expected to be about 150 miles southeast of Nantucket, Cadima said, but he cautioned that the projected track of the hurricane can vary widely and said much could change between now and then.
According to the National Weather Service, Earl’s maximum sustained winds surged to 135 miles per hour yesterday as it was about 100 miles north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Kevin Cadima, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, said the storm is moving north-northwest and is expected to be somewhere west of the Bahamas by early today.
A hurricane is considered to be Category 4 when it has maximum sustained winds between 131 and 155 miles per hour.
If Earl stays on its current course, by Friday it is expected to be about 150 miles southeast of Nantucket, Cadima said, but he cautioned that the projected track of the hurricane can vary widely and said much could change between now and then.
Monday, August 30, 2010
S.Korea Welcomes Sanctions on North, Offers Aid
* New sanctions target North Korea's leadership
* Seoul says sanctions regime now complete
* South offers first large-scale aid since ship sinking
SEOUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) - South Korea welcomed expanded U.S. financial sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday, but made its first large-scale offer of aid to its destitute neighbour since the sinking of one of its warships in March.
President Barack Obama broadened financial sanctions on North Korea on Monday and froze the U.S. assets of four North Korean citizens and eight firms in part to punish the diplomatically isolated state for the sinking of Cheonan corvette which killed 46 sailors. [ID:nN30179987]
U.S. officials hope the measures, which target North Korean entities that trade in conventional arms and luxury products and that counterfeit U.S. currency, will also sharpen pressure on the North's leader Kim Jong-il to abandon his nuclear programmes.
Washington views the atomic capabilities of the North, which tested nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009, as a threat to its allies South Korea and Japan, and as a proliferation risk.
Pyongyang has said it wants to restart stalled nuclear disarmament talks, but both Seoul and Washington insist it accepts responsibility for the sinking of the Cheonan before they engage in dialogue. http://ping.fm/Ppkib
* Seoul says sanctions regime now complete
* South offers first large-scale aid since ship sinking
SEOUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) - South Korea welcomed expanded U.S. financial sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday, but made its first large-scale offer of aid to its destitute neighbour since the sinking of one of its warships in March.
President Barack Obama broadened financial sanctions on North Korea on Monday and froze the U.S. assets of four North Korean citizens and eight firms in part to punish the diplomatically isolated state for the sinking of Cheonan corvette which killed 46 sailors. [ID:nN30179987]
U.S. officials hope the measures, which target North Korean entities that trade in conventional arms and luxury products and that counterfeit U.S. currency, will also sharpen pressure on the North's leader Kim Jong-il to abandon his nuclear programmes.
Washington views the atomic capabilities of the North, which tested nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009, as a threat to its allies South Korea and Japan, and as a proliferation risk.
Pyongyang has said it wants to restart stalled nuclear disarmament talks, but both Seoul and Washington insist it accepts responsibility for the sinking of the Cheonan before they engage in dialogue. http://ping.fm/Ppkib
Ping.fm - Buzz This, Integrate That!
Hello again Pingers! How is everyone doing this fine Tuesday? We wanted to do a quick update for you to explain the new stuff we have available for your social networking goodness.
First off, what's all this Google Buzz about? Well we know
From: http://ping.fm/eskjU
First off, what's all this Google Buzz about? Well we know
From: http://ping.fm/eskjU
Drug Kingpin is also Wanted in the States on a $2 Million Reward
Mexico nabs U.S.-born drug lord 'La Barbie' Mexican authorities captured a legendary Texan on Monday who is accused of a bloody climb to the top echelon of one of the hemisphere's most powerful drug cartels.
Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie" for his looks, faces a slew of charges in Mexico, but also is wanted in the United States, where he has been indicted for smuggling thousands of pounds of cocaine into this country.
The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $2 million for his capture.
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle late Monday, a Houston lawyer representing Valdez, 37, said he fears his client will be tortured or worse before he can be returned to the United States for trial.
"I do not think anyone is safe in the hands of the Mexican military" defense attorney Kent Schaffer said. "Something is going to happen."
Most recently, Valdez was indicted in Atlanta on federal charges he imported and distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine from 2004 to 2006.
U.S. prosecutors contend the drugs were often smuggled north through Texas and then on to Atlanta, which is a hub for cartel activity in the Southeastern United States.
In turn, millions of dollars in proceeds were sent back to Mexico a similar way, according to court papers.
Valdez is said to have been a standout high-school football player in the Texas-Mexico border city of Laredo, where a coach nicknamed him Barbie for his hair and eye color.
It is unusual for an American to climb so high in the ranks of Mexican organized crime, but not unprecedented.
Texas-born Juan Garcia Abrego was captured in Mexico in the 1990s and sent to Houston, where he was convicted of drug-trafficking crimes as the head of the Gulf Cartel. He is now serving multiple life sentences.
A Mexican federal government source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Valdez was captured by federal police outside Mexico City and he was being held in the capital city at a secure location.
"A result of intelligence gathered by the modernized federal police force he was arrested in the State of Mexico," the source said.
'A big deal'
Gary Hale, the recently retired chief of intelligence for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Houston Division, said Valdez could be among the top five traffickers in Mexico.
"It is a big deal to capture a cartel head who happens to be a U.S. citizen," said Hale, who is owner of Grupo Savant, a law-enforcement and intelligence consulting firm.
Hale said he doubts Valdez will be harmed because any allegations of rights abuses involving such a high-profile prisoner could jeopardize U.S. financial assistance.
According to the U.S. government, Valdez was part of the Sinaloa Cartel before one of its chief leaders established his own organization.
That leader, Arturo Beltran Leyva, was killed in December 2009 in a shootout with the Mexican military.
His death was believed to have left the throne of power to Valdez, but also left a target clearly on his back. He was in a war with Beltran Leyva's brother, Hector, for control of the business.
While Valdez hasn't been formally charged for carnage in Mexico, he's widely been blamed for killings and rivals have sought to mock him by hanging and mutilating his soldiers, as well as leaving public messages with insults.
The attorney, Schaffer, said his client was on the run and knew time was running out.
"You die, get caught or spend your life looking over your shoulder," he said.
"We thought there was a distinct possibility," he said of Valdez's capture, which he found out about through a Valdez family member. As a result, Schaffer had been hired to look at options in the event Valdez was captured.
He hopes he'll be sent back to the United States.
As of Monday night, Schaffer said he was still trying to find his client.
By DANE SCHILLER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
http://ping.fm/su6eN
Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie" for his looks, faces a slew of charges in Mexico, but also is wanted in the United States, where he has been indicted for smuggling thousands of pounds of cocaine into this country.
The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $2 million for his capture.
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle late Monday, a Houston lawyer representing Valdez, 37, said he fears his client will be tortured or worse before he can be returned to the United States for trial.
"I do not think anyone is safe in the hands of the Mexican military" defense attorney Kent Schaffer said. "Something is going to happen."
Most recently, Valdez was indicted in Atlanta on federal charges he imported and distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine from 2004 to 2006.
U.S. prosecutors contend the drugs were often smuggled north through Texas and then on to Atlanta, which is a hub for cartel activity in the Southeastern United States.
In turn, millions of dollars in proceeds were sent back to Mexico a similar way, according to court papers.
Valdez is said to have been a standout high-school football player in the Texas-Mexico border city of Laredo, where a coach nicknamed him Barbie for his hair and eye color.
It is unusual for an American to climb so high in the ranks of Mexican organized crime, but not unprecedented.
Texas-born Juan Garcia Abrego was captured in Mexico in the 1990s and sent to Houston, where he was convicted of drug-trafficking crimes as the head of the Gulf Cartel. He is now serving multiple life sentences.
A Mexican federal government source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Valdez was captured by federal police outside Mexico City and he was being held in the capital city at a secure location.
"A result of intelligence gathered by the modernized federal police force he was arrested in the State of Mexico," the source said.
'A big deal'
Gary Hale, the recently retired chief of intelligence for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Houston Division, said Valdez could be among the top five traffickers in Mexico.
"It is a big deal to capture a cartel head who happens to be a U.S. citizen," said Hale, who is owner of Grupo Savant, a law-enforcement and intelligence consulting firm.
Hale said he doubts Valdez will be harmed because any allegations of rights abuses involving such a high-profile prisoner could jeopardize U.S. financial assistance.
According to the U.S. government, Valdez was part of the Sinaloa Cartel before one of its chief leaders established his own organization.
That leader, Arturo Beltran Leyva, was killed in December 2009 in a shootout with the Mexican military.
His death was believed to have left the throne of power to Valdez, but also left a target clearly on his back. He was in a war with Beltran Leyva's brother, Hector, for control of the business.
While Valdez hasn't been formally charged for carnage in Mexico, he's widely been blamed for killings and rivals have sought to mock him by hanging and mutilating his soldiers, as well as leaving public messages with insults.
The attorney, Schaffer, said his client was on the run and knew time was running out.
"You die, get caught or spend your life looking over your shoulder," he said.
"We thought there was a distinct possibility," he said of Valdez's capture, which he found out about through a Valdez family member. As a result, Schaffer had been hired to look at options in the event Valdez was captured.
He hopes he'll be sent back to the United States.
As of Monday night, Schaffer said he was still trying to find his client.
By DANE SCHILLER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
http://ping.fm/su6eN
Nora Aunor fails to sing during Australia show
Nora Aunor fails to sing during Australia show
MANILA, Philippines – Superstar Nora Aunor was emotional during her concert in Australia.
During the show, the seasoned actress, who is also known for her golden voice, was struggling to sing on stage but failed. Aunor, who did not sing at all during the concert, explained that she lost her singing voice after undergoing cosmetic surgery in Japan recently.
MANILA, Philippines – Superstar Nora Aunor was emotional during her concert in Australia.
During the show, the seasoned actress, who is also known for her golden voice, was struggling to sing on stage but failed. Aunor, who did not sing at all during the concert, explained that she lost her singing voice after undergoing cosmetic surgery in Japan recently.
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